Frivolous Friday-- Grammar Is Important. #3 of a series.

November 16,2012
Note: I am in the process of renewing my home page. It is a task intensive and frustrating ordeal, so please bear with me until the final edition is ready. In the meantime .....enjoy



This  is a series that  will appear on the Frivolous Friday slot for the next little while, in bi-weekly increments ( for fortnightly if you are from Britain). Although it is very basic grammar, most of it I learned while in junior high school.... now called middle school and the presentation reflects that age group.

 I am not a teacher, not do I have any idea what is or is not taught in the system today. It is just an idea that presented itself when I came across a grammar text ( see Oct.5/12) that was used in the schools "in my day".  I am hoping to refresh my memory and maybe even relearn a few things, but mostly I am going to make the effort to keep it, light, informative and above all, fun and humorous.  Hope you enjoy.








Post # 3 of  Series

The following are groups of words  that are often confused and misused. I have been guilty of erroneously using many of them at one time or another. As these groups of words number in the hundreds, I have only chosen random groups.

advice --- advise:
Advice is a noun meaning a recommendation that is given.
     A wife always gives her husband sound advice!!!

Advise is a verb meaning an act of guidance.
      A husband will advise his wife if he is willing to accept her advice!


complement ---compliment:
Complement refers to people or things that go well or work well together.
      Your new Gucci purse complements the outfit  you  just bought.

Compliment means to praise.
       I always love it when my family compliments the meal I lovingly prepared for them.


farther --- further:
Farther pertains to distance.
       Some students have farther to go to attend school than others.

Further refers to degree or extent but not to distance.
      With more education you are able to go further in your type of work.


lay ---lie:    (this is one of my pet peeves)
Lay mean to put something down, to place something somewhere. The verb lay always take an object.
       Please lay the new tablecloth on the table for Thanksgiving Dinner.
       Hens lay eggs.

Lie means to recline, to rest,or to remain in a reclining position.
      I am going to lie on the sofa for a rest before preparing Dinner.
The verb lie is also the verb to use when speaking of inanimate objects that are in a reclining or in a  lying down position.
      The recipe for the new dessert is lying on the kitchen table.
There is another verb lie, that means falsehood, but it causes no particular problems.


whose ---who's:
Whose is an adjective showing possession.
          There is a treat for the child whose room is the neatest.

Who's  is a contraction of who and is.
          When the bell rings, please see who's at the door.


Well, that's it for this week.  My advice is to compliment people if they are near or farther away, because you never know whose life you may affect. ( OK, so I could only think of 4/5 off the top of my head!!)
         





Information obtained from "The New Webster's Fingertip Factfinder" and Grammar Is Important by A.W.McGuire.  See post from October 5,2012 for follow up info.